Saad El-Din El-Shazly, whose real name was Saad El-Husseini El-Shazly (April 1, 1922 – February 10, 2011), was an Egyptian military commander with the rank of Lieutenant General. He served as Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces from May 16, 1971 to December 13, 1973. He was also the founder and commander of the first Egyptian Paratrooper Division, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League for Military Affairs, former ambassador to England and Portugal, and a military analyst.
As Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, he spearheaded the plan to cross the Suez Canal and the successful Egyptian attack on the Israeli Bar-Lev Line during the October War of 1973. During the fighting, a dispute arose between him and President Anwar El-Sadat, resulting in his resignation as Chief of Staff. After the war, he was appointed Egypt’s ambassador to Britain and then Portugal. He declared his strong opposition to the Camp David Accords, resigned from his post, and traveled to Algeria, seeking political asylum. He returned to Egypt on March 14, 1992, after a military court ruling was issued against him, which sent him to military prison. However, he was later granted a general pardon, and he lived out of the spotlight until his death on February 10, 2011.